New Infometrics study reignites debate on investors’ value, risks and impact.
New research commissioned by the New Zealand Property Investors Federation has re‑ignited debate over the role of landlords in the housing market, with fresh data highlighting their economic contribution even as questions remain about affordability and where capital is best deployed.
Economic consultancy Infometrics estimates private residential investors contributed $24.8 billion to gross domestic product in the past year, or around 5.9% of GDP, and indirectly supported 126,000 full‑time equivalent jobs.
Those findings land in what advisers describe as a clear buyers’ market, with the latest industry survey showing a sharp pullback in first-home buyer momentum and more investors sitting on the sidelines, and separate agent polling pointing to more investors selling than buying as FOMO fades and prices stay flat.
Federation advocacy manager Matt Ball said the numbers challenge the idea that landlords add little beyond capital gains.
“Providing rental housing doesn't just produce economic activity, it's an enabler of economic activity throughout the economy,” Ball told RNZ.
Rental stock, maintenance spend and new builds
Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen (pictured left) said the analysis points to ongoing economic activity generated by rental stock, from new builds to ongoing maintenance.
Olsen noted that investors spent about $4.1 billion in the year on repairs and improvements, alongside nearly $11 billion of activity related to new construction.
He argued that public debate often conflates short‑term speculators with long‑term investors providing housing.
“What we've found is that not only is there a substantial level of economic contribution and workforce that are indirectly supported by property investment in New Zealand, but the work that's coming through, it does provide economic value in terms of places for people to live,” Olsen said.
Criticism over capital allocation and affordability
The findings have drawn pushback from union and investment commentators who say the headline GDP figure does not settle concerns about housing affordability or whether too much capital is tied up in property.
Council of Trade Unions policy director Craig Renney pointed out that owner‑occupiers also spend on maintenance and upgrades, arguing that “a private owner might well maintain it to a higher standard than a landlord.”
Simplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub (pictured right) said the key question is not whether housing investment generates activity, but whether the balance is right.
“I don't think the critique has ever been that no property ownership is good. It's whether we have disproportionate allocation of capital – we do – that distorts the market and creates efficiency and equity issues,” Eaqub said.
Ball said the report was commissioned to counter claims that rental investment is “unproductive speculation”, insisting the data show that providing rental accommodation supports jobs, tax revenue, and housing supply across the economy, RNZ reported.
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